Most big fashion retailers have to guess what their customers will want to nine months' time, but product cycle times are much shorter at Zara, a Spanish fashion company.
Zara's competitors outsource all manufacturing and use cheaper foreign labour.
Zara can respond quickly to market trends. The store managers report on sales to the headquarters in Spain. Product lines can be discarded or altered and new lines can be created immediately.
New products are delivered to the stores twice a week and lead times are short. Zara can receive and ship an order almost as fast as a teenage customer can change his or her mind. Rapid design, just-in-time production, and fast stock turnover are the keys to Zara's success.